At the risk of sounding like I'm defending Landmark (believe me, I'm not -- they rubbed me up the wrong way before I even really knew what they were) -- the "stop trying to get somewhere" is sort of culled from Buddhist/Zen type philosophies. Sort of like, stop viewing fulfilment solely in the accomplishment of goals, appreciate what you have in the moment, appreciate the jou
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I've just had an excellent example of how Landmark's unhealthy. A friend of ours recently went to a Landmark seminar with our other Landmark friend. He had no idea what it was about, but he was really put off by the hard sell and told them to bugger off in no uncertain terms. Afterward, the Landmark friend kept saying to him, "Isn't there anything in your life you're u
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I think one of the problems with Landmark (and similar organisations) is that their sales technique requires them to apply a "one size fits all" philosophy. They've got a sales formula that works -- if they allowed others to express their opinions or to dissent, then they'd lose sales, and so cannot allow this. But of course, no one has all the answers, not even Landmark ( ;
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quotelovinglife By the way, what do you guys think of some of the things that graduates are saying about their recent experiences on sites like My Landmark Forum and I Love Possibility ? Reading these sites, I felt sorry for the children and teenagers that have been subjected to it -- it's difficult to explain, and I'm not sure that someone who hasn't been through that kind of co
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuotelovinglifeWhy do you refer to your husband/wife as "spouse" ? Just out of curiosity, what's wrong with the word "spouse"?
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuotePhireX Then just said, wherever there is a rule, there must be exceptions, otherwise it isnt a rule. Forgive me, I'm going to be really pedantic here (I guess being analytical about language is my "strong suit" ;) ) -- but the saying "the exception that proves the rule" must be one of the most widely misunderstood in the English language. When the phrase first ca
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

:lol: Marc, if you aren't already, you should be a writer -- you have a wonderfully dry wit :)
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteCruisader You are tricked into thinking it's cool to make choices and uncool to make decisions. Forgive me if this was explained elsewhere and I've missed it... but what's the difference between a choice and a decision?
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

"dress code for the mind" -- exactly!!!! Why don't people seem to recognise this anymore?
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

sort of interesting aside based on this... I was reading "the templar revelation" recently, and one of their theses was that back in the time of Jesus, John the Baptist had his own church that was hugely popular, and the Jesus church sort of ousted him and perverted his story so that it would fit in with the desired perceptions (apparently there is still a following of the John church
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Toni -- I don't think Rushbinder was asking for your phone number -- she was just saying it's "your call" (ie it's up to you) -- not sure exactly what's up to you, but there you have it ;) Rushbinder -- just give the person's name -- there are so many evangelists in the US that it really is like searching for a specific straw in a haystack otherwise -- as Ton
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuotercottonIf you give up saying "something is wrong here", you will create peace in your life. Rubbish. If you give up saying "something is wrong here", you lose the impetus to make changes for the better, or to improve a bad situation. Did we want Nelson Mandela to say, "there's nothing wrong here, apartheid is okay actually" -- do we want youth workers i
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteJF I dont mean to make light of your situation by the way. Oh, it wasn't me -- I've never been involved with Landmark (except through my mother's involvement with EST).
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I thought this quote (which I've copied below) from Cruisader was very interesting. JF, how many of the following statements do you agree with? It might give you a clue to how you've been affected (negatively or positively) by Landmark QuoteMain things for me to deprogram after Landmark I think are: - Impulsive choices. It is good to think about stuff carefully and be aware o
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteJFQuoteSavernakeQuoteJF One of the 'rules' of Landmark is that anyone who hasnt done the Forum does have a racket, winning formula or story. Why is that? I gather than a "racket" is essentially self-deception. Is it not possible for a person to become enlightened or self-aware other than through Landmark? A racket is a persistant complaint you have about someth
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteJF One of the 'rules' of Landmark is that anyone who hasnt done the Forum does have a racket, winning formula or story. Why is that? I gather than a "racket" is essentially self-deception. Is it not possible for a person to become enlightened or self-aware other than through Landmark?
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hi Joe -- I'm surprised you asked what possible ill-effects you could be suffering, given that you're still so positive about it. Was this just a roundabout way of trying to understand why so many of us here on this board seem to be against it? If so, you only needed to ask :) I was brought up in a LGAT type environment -- at first I thought my parents had not been involved in a
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quoteglam but now he attributes every professional success to Landmark, rather than to his own talent or experience. That's just like my Landmark friend! This guy built up his own multi-million pound business from nothing (computer hardware and network solutions), and does pop videos in his spare time (even touring with a well known rap artist at one point). But he insists that his life
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Hi Straight Talk I can understand where you're coming from -- you've probably read a couple of posts where people have felt harrassed and irritated by the pressure to join the forum (and some from people like myself, who have grown up with LGAT style philosophies shoved down their throats from an early age, and haven't considered the experience to be in any way positive). I t
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

The more I read about LGATs the more convinced I become that I was raised in a sort of unofficial LGAT. I used to do that "blocking" thing -- ironically, it used to drive my mother absolutely mental. I'm not sure if I picked it up subconsciously as a technique that she employed... but I just know that at the time, I thought there wasn't any point letting things upset me, so
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Wow. It serves to remind how easy it could be to get sucked up into one of these things. About a year ago I was going through a real low-point, career-wise (I ended up resigning from my job, it got that bad). I was terribly depressed and under a huge amount of stress and went to see a careers cousellor to see what I could do to make it better. Luckily the man in question could see that I
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quoteelena Notice he didn't make the leap that most businesses don't rely on customers to recruit new customers. Or train or teach them how to sell their product. Or that he was giving a for-profit concern his labor. He was obviously "coached" on how to respond to this reaction. Would this person have pitched a product to you before he went through the program? :lol:
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Well, I've finally met up with the Landmark friend and it was surprisingly unpainful. (don't worry, I still have absolutely no desire to go and my husband says he doesn't want to go either). But I was surprised -- he wasn't as bad as I expected. The worst thing he did was -- well, I thought he wasn't bringing up Landmark, and so I was relieved. But I later found out fr
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I'm not a native French speaker, but I'm reasonably fluent... in any case, I can translate a helluva a lot better than Babelfish! (I find those BF translations so painful to read! I can only figure out what they mean by translating their translation back to the literal French words and then translating forwards again to make it make sense.) Unfortunately I don't have sound on
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteQuestioningMindsHaven't paid, I don't plan to pay or have anyone else pay for me either. QM This is actually one of the answers I've rehearsed for an upcoming weekend with a Landmark friend (next weekend :( -- I've managed to put it off for several weeks now but next weekend it is). If he offers to pay for us to go, I will say, "Not only do I not want to pay se
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

I think you did the right thing. A friend of mine got involved with Landmark recently -- I pondered whether I should say anything to him. I decided in the end that he was too headstrong for me to make any impact (I don't have the benefit of the controlled environment and ability to induce sleep deprivation after all ;) ) -- but now I wonder if I did the right thing. What's even mor
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Now I'm wondering -- part of the lure with my Landmark friend seems to be that he thinks their "technology" is revolutionary. Being a bluff, bull-by-the-horns, big-ego'd lad not given to introspection, I'm sure these thoughts are new to him. He sounded skeptical and a bit disappointed when I said the ideas he was pushing at me have been part of American culture for year
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

QuoteSarahLhttp://www.bitchpanic.com/shack/archive/media/oprah.shtml Oprah Switches from Estrogen to est September 10, 2001 I thought this line was significant: "The intimidation and peer pressure is used to get you to reveal all your weaknesses to the group. Then, these weaknesses are used against you if you question what you are told. " I am now convinced that I grew up in a
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Wow, I think I've just had a revelation -- dangerous stuff :) Another advantage that Americans have over Europeans is that they are masters of presentation, of the hard and soft sell. Elena mentioned the link between fear and sales -- but another way of looking at it is that advertisers want us to be discontent with our lives. If we're content with our old car, why would we buy a n
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"

Quoteelena Which is why it surprises me that Landmark, and groups like Landmark, are having any success at all in Britain. What surprised me even more is that it should be this person who fell for it. He's such a bullish, in-your-face kind of person (he's okay in small doses, but I do get weary if I spend too much tiem with him) -- he's the sort of person who, the only way to l
Forum: Large Group Awareness Training, "Human Potential"